No Capes
by XxOneTrueEnigmaxX
Summary: The battle against Kaguya was won, but not without sacrifice. Their ultimatum was supposed to kill them along with their enemy, but instead they wake up in a world where weirdos run around in their underwear and madmen try to continuously take over the world. Their sudden presence disrupts the balance and brings a chaos that puts them on the hit list of heroes and villains alike.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Of course I own nothing.

 _"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."_

 _~Joseph Campbell_

 **No Capes**

 _ **Prologue**_

* * *

 _Manhattan, New York City_

 _Jan 22, 2009_

 _1:01 EDT_

She was walking home awfully late.

It's not like it was the first time this has happened; her job required her to stay later than usual sometimes, so it was actually quite common. This time though, luck had not been on her side.

Out of all days she had to stay in late for work, today was the day her car decided to act up and not work, forcing her to walk to and from work.

New York City was, overall, a nice place to live in. Sure it wasn't one of sunshines and rainbows and smiling people who wished you a cheery 'good morning' as you walked by them. But, it certainly was a lot nicer than places such as Gotham and Bludhaven. In fact, it was nicer than her own previous home.

However, even New York had its dark corners.

Oh, her workplace was located in a safe place, sure enough. After all, Lexcorps always made sure to establish offices only in the most pristine and safe (well, as safe as it could get) locations.

It was the neighborhood she had to go through to get to work that was not exactly... safe. This specific neighborhood was where the most crimes were committed in the city. It was one shrouded in darkness, where the worst of criminals stalked the shadows, and the only sounds in the night were those of the occasional gun shots and ambulance sirens. It was terrifying. Even the name should give people a clue that anybody, and everybody should stay away.

'Hell's Kitchen.'

So, you could see the problem she was having.

She clutched her purse tightly against her chest as she walked through the darkened streets of Hell's Kitchen, moving a bit faster than normal underneath the few lights that illuminated her path. The houses of the neighborhood already had their own lights turned off. Most likely its occupants were hiding from the dangers that surrounded their homes.

Smart, they were.

Unlike one Felicity Smoak, who had declined her fellow coworker's generous offer of giving her a ride home. A decision she regretted the moment she walked out of Lexcorps' offices, because as she stood outside her workplace staring down the darkened streets she would have to walk through to get to her apartment, she contemplated the idea of staying the night in her IT office instead of walking home.

In the end, she chose to walk instead.

Another decision she regretted.

Sure she was used to walking down shady streets—Starling City hadn't exactly been the safest place in the world–but, Felicity never had to walk down empty streets so late at night back in Starling City. And even if she did, there was still a vigilante hero watching over her, making sure she would never be harmed.

New York City didn't have a vigilante. There was no Green Arrow or Batman to stop any criminal from getting their hands on her.

No. There had only been a kind guy who offered her a ride home, which she stupidly declined.

"Nice move, Smoak," she muttered to herself, "Refuse a nice guy's offer to drive you home, so you could walk down a street where you could get murdered. You really have a dead wish, don't you?"

Jesus, she never knew this neighborhood was so big. How long has she been walking here? Surely she should've been out of here a long time a-

The sound of something rustling made her ears perk up and her heart rate picked up speed. She froze in the middle of the sidewalk and slowly turned to look around the area, searching for anything out of the ordinary – any moving shadows or things that looked like they could kill her, but there was nothing except an empty street.

 _'Pleasejustbearatpleasejustbearatpleasejustbearat.'_

Another rustle.

This time, she didn't bother to search and see if the sound really originated from a critter. Instead, she skipped everything and ran.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she ran as fast as she could, and that's when she heard it: the sound of rushing footsteps trying to catch up behind her.

 _'Shit. I'm going to die today, aren't I?"_

She turned the corner ran into an alleyway and before the person chasing her could follow her lead, she slid behind a dumpster and listened as the footsteps got closer. They turned into the same alley and she held her breath as she saw the shadow of a man running down the alley, until he was swallowed by the darkness.

Once the sound of footsteps faded away, she released a breathe of relief and sat there shaking until she got herself together.

 _'Nope,_ ' she thought as she smirked humorlessly, _'I get to live another day.'_

Her lips released a nervous, shaky chuckle as she stood up on wobbly legs. She sighed in relief and moved away from the dumpster.

Only to be grabbed from behind and shoved back against the wall.

She yelped loudly and was about to scream until a calloused hand clasped itself tightly over her mouth.

 _"Ssssshhhh."_

The darkness of the alley prevented her from seeing her attacker's face completely, but what she could see, was that he definitely wasn't alone.

"Thought you could get away, huh? Little chipmunk."

There was laughter from the other men that surrounded her. There had to be three of them – tops–aside from the man that was currently holding her down. She didn't know where they came from or why she didn't hear them coming, but she was cornered and definitely in a more than unpleasant situation. The man moved his hand slightly away from Felicity's mouth, giving her the opportunity to talk once again.

"P-please," she found herself begging, which was demeaning in and of itself as it was a thing she vowed she would never do again, "I-I have money. You can have it. But, please let me go."

The men chuckled darkly once again. She could almost see their yellow teeth glinting in the darkness as they smiled widely like the Cheshire cat.

"Sweetie," crooned the man, Felicity shuddered as his rough finger trailed lightly down her cheek, "It's not just money we're after."

Felicity shut her eyes closed, wishing – not for the first time – that she was back in her clean and prestigious IT office in Starling City under Queen Enterprises. Where she certainly wouldn't be in this kind of situation. And, even if she were, she would know that there was somebody out there watching over her and making sure no harm ever came her way.

But, those times were gone and she was here instead.

" _Gah_!"

The hands that had held her glued to the wall were suddenly ripped from her body, making her legs crumble beneath.

"What the-?!"

"Who's there?!"

 _"Bwah!"_

Felicity's eyes widened and she scrambled back against the dumpster that she had been hiding behind not five minutes ago. The darkness that befell the alley made it impossible for her to see what exactly was going on, but based on the sounds of skin hitting skin and bodies falling onto concrete, she would have to guess that her attackers were currently getting their asses kicked by… somebody.

"You little- _Gwaha_!"

There was one final, loud 'thump' and Felicity was able to see the face of one of the men that had attacked her as his body fell with his upper half landing near the entrance of the alley that was illuminated by the lights of the street.

She stared at his unconscious form in bafflement before a brown boot stepped into the light. Her eyes slowly traveled up the boot to the rest of the shadowy figure that remained in the darkness, before they finally landed on the bright blue eyes that shone through the shadows like a pair of sapphires. Eyes that held a comfortable warmth to them, and a deep kindness that could compare to no other.

It made her feel… safe.

They ran up and down her body, not in a perverted way like the guys that had attacked her, but more in a concerned matter. Like he was checking for anything that might be out of place.

"Are you okay?"

She flinched at the sound of the husky voice that emanated from the figure. It took her a while to figure out that she had been addressed before she nodded slowly.

The figure seemed to nod his head, but didn't approach her to inspect for any injuries. He was keeping his distance, apparently.

"Call the police," he said, "It'd be best if these guys were put behind bars."

Felicity however, didn't move. Hell, she wasn't even breathing. The scenario was far too similar to previous encounters she'd had in the past that left a bitter taste in her mouth remembering them now; when a man in a green hood had saved her various times from people who had wanted to do her harm.

They were memories she had hoped to leave behind in Starling City when she moved to New York, not have them rekindled by another stranger hiding in the shadows after saving her life.

"You… do have a phone… right?"

Felicity was once again shaken from her reverie, and she nodded profusely before pulling out her phone from her purse.

"Good," he stated. Felicity watched as the man turned around and began to walk away. Before she could stop herself, her hands grasped onto the wall and she pulled herself up on shaky legs.

"Wait!" she called out. The man stopped and turned his head, his blue eyes landing on her own blue ones in question.

"What's your name?"

Silence.

The man didn't respond. Didn't even move or give any indication that he heard Felicity's question. Instead, his eyes were glued onto hers, and Felicity felt… kinda violated. It was like those eyes were staring deep into her soul and uncovering secret after secret that she thought she had hidden under old, dusty drapes forever so nobody would find.

Finally, Felicity almost saw the man smirk in response.

"A stranger," he responded.

Felicity wanted to smack him. Of course he'd say that. All vigilantes say that.

"By the way, don't walk home alone so late," he chuckled, "If somebody offers you a ride, don't refuse them."

All Felicity did was blink, and the man was gone. Almost as if he had never been there in the first place and he had been a part of her imagination. Felicity looked around the alley, trying desperately and in vain to search for her rescuer, but there was no point in it. The only thing she could see, were the unconscious bodies of the vulgar men he had beaten up for her and a dark alley.

He had disappeared.

Felicity huffed in frustration as she pushed herself off the wall and did as the man had told her, she typed in 911 on her phone and shoved it against her ear.

When she had left Starling City, Felicity Smoak had been hoping to leave the violent and bloody world of the Vigilantes behind her and move on to live a normal life in Manhattan, a place that was almost devoid of any kind of heroic and villainy activity.

But, as it turns out, Manhattan did have a vigilante of its own.

And she had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she would see him.

* * *

 _Manhattan, New York City_

 _January 30_

 _7:53 EDT_

He overslept again.

And this time, Ronnie Raymond couldn't deny that the entire fault lay solely on him.

Sure, he could argue that his alarm was not loud enough to rouse him up from his deep sleep despite the fact that it had been at full volume. Sure, he could complain that his TV was enticing him with a 9-hour marathon of Doctor Who episodes that he had been eager to watch to its fullest.

Sure, he could lie and say that he had been busy unpacking the rest of his stuff in his new home with his father. But, as the years went by and Ronnie went from grade level to grade level, he found that it was getting harder to bullshit his way past his teachers.

That's usually when being the quarterback and star of the football team came in handy; such a title made it easy for him to convince his teachers to raise his grades or pardon a tardy. After all, they couldn't have the school's star quarterback miss out in the action on the field. It could cost them their winning streak.

But, that status had belonged to him in his old school back in Pennsylvania, not in Bradley High School where already more than half his teachers and fellow classmates hated him for no other reason other than being himself. His teachers wouldn't excuse him, even if it was just his third day in this new school.

Which is why he found himself running at full speed through the streets on his way to school.

"Excuse me! Sorry!"

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, sir!"

He dodged obstacle after obstacle, person after person, running as fast as he could so he wouldn't be chewed out by his Chemistry teacher who was already more than pissed off at him. Apparently, the guy didn't take it well when his new student blows up his class (on accident) during a lab gone wrong.

"Oof!"

Ronnie was taken by surprise when he suddenly bumped into something _hard_ , the impact making him fall to the ground where he rubbed his forehead in pain.

"Are you okay?" asked a male voice. A pale hand appeared in Ronnie's field of vision.

"Yeah, sorry sir," replied Ronnie as he took the offered hand that helped him get up from the ground.

"It's fine," spoke the almost bored voice of the man, "Just be more careful next time."

Ronnie nodded furiously, before taking off once again, not even bothering to get a full view of the man's face. He was already late enough as it was.

But, as he crossed the street, Ronnie was too busy worrying about being late that he didn't notice the car coming his way at full speed until it was almost too late. Ronnie's eyes widened as time seemed to slow down and he caught sight of the incoming mustang that didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

Shit. He was going to get ran over. Out of all days, he hadn't expected for this one to be his last day on Earth.

Almost.

He felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist and the feel of the wind hitting his body hard. One second he was running in the middle of the street about to be run down by a car, and the next he was standing in the middle of the sidewalk with a crowd of people shoving past him as if nothing happened and he didn't just appear out of nowhere.

He blinked. And blinked. And blinked. He looked back at the street where the car that was about to run him over drove past before disappearing in the distance. His eyes remained glued to the spot where he had been just mere seconds ago before they furiously wandered around the area, looking for any form of logical explanation for this oddity.

When he found nothing but people walking by him and pushing him out of the way, he shook his head.

 _'Must've been my imagination.'_

His eyes landed on the black watch wrapped around his wrist and they widened.

"Shit! I'm late!" he cried out, before he continued on his way back to school, the incident now moved to the back of his mind.

The man watched as the boy disappeared amongst the sea of people.

" _Tch_. Told him to be careful," he muttered before walking away.

* * *

 _Manhattan, New York_

 _January 30_

 _10:04 PM EDT_

The pain was overwhelming.

Peter knew that he should've expected something like this from the very beginning the moment he decided to walk home so late at night. New York City wasn't exactly the safest place to walk around near-midnight after all.

He looked down at his hands clutching onto his stomach, the blood pouring out of his wound had colored them a deep scarlet that would take hours to wash off. The liquid stained newly bought clothes a dark, ugly color, too. Damn, his aunt will be pissed at him.

That is, if he survived long enough to see her again.

He groaned in pain. The guy took his phone as well, so there was no way for him to contact the police and get an ambulance to pick him up before it was too late and he completely bled out on the concrete.

His camera had also been taken. His expensive camera that was given to him by his overbearing boss who told him with carefully calculated words to take good care of it, otherwise his ass was in the biggest trouble of the century.

How awesome was his new job at the Daily Bugle?

 _'You should really make better life choices, Peter,'_ he thought bitterly.

"Help!" he had been crying out for the past ten minutes, ever since the man had pulled him from the sidewalk into the alley and attacked him. But, the streets were near empty by then, and nobody heard his hoarse cry for help. Either that or they completely ignored it.

He was going to die here, he just knew it. All for a wallet with eight bucks and a gift card to a local taco place.

"Are you okay?"

His eyes widened and his head snapped up. There was somebody there in the shadows, somebody who spoke with a feminine voice and had addressed his injured-self. Unless of course, it had been his imagination.

No. There was somebody there alright. He could see their outline in the shadows with his blurry vision. The outline of a woman, and a pair of aqua green eyes that shone with concern.

"You're hurt."

No shit, he wanted to say. But, he wasn't willing to risk frustrating the only person who may be willing to help him because of his snarky attitude.

"C-can you call a hos-"

"Stay still," ordered the voice.

He watched as a pair of small hands reached out for his injured area and slowly removed his hands from his abdomen. He knew that it wasn't that deep, knew it the instant the knife pierced through skin. It was the blood loss that he was worried about. He was losing far too much of the precious liquid that is supposed to remain inside his body in order for him to live.

She gently placed her own hands over the wound.

"Um, I-I appreciate the help, but I-I think an ambulance would work b-be-"

Peter's eyes widened when a vibrant green glow appeared in the woman's hands and a warm sensation spread throughout his body. He watched with uncontained amazement - doubting his sanity and wondering if this was a dream - as the hands continued to glow over his wound, and after a few long minutes that felt like forever, the glow dissipated and the hands moved away.

Peter blinked as his shaky, blood-covered hands reached over for his wound... only to realize that it wasn't there anymore. His eyes widened even more and he slowly pulled up his dirty shirt. The blood was still there, but there was no knife wound. There wasn't even any pain. The injury was gone and the only evidence that it had ever been there, was the blood staining his clothes and skin.

"H-how... How did you...?"

He looked up from his wound, expecting to see the woman standing there, but there was nothing. Only an empty space where his rescuer used to be. He looked wildly across the alley, hoping to find the woman that had helped him, but she wasn't there anymore. She had vanished into thin air.

He felt his wound-free abdomen once again before pulling his shirt down.

He didn't understand what had happened, or who that had been.

But, one thing he did know, was that his aunt was definitely going to kill him for getting his clothes dirty.

* * *

It all began with small incidents like these. People in New York City (most notably Manhattan) claimed to have been saved, at one point during the last few weeks, by either a man or woman shrouded in shadows. They would never show their faces or even announce their presence before disappearing into the darkness.

Stories like these were spread far and wide, and people began to believe that a group of new vigilantes had taken root in New York City for the first time, in a long time.

Still, despite the many stories that were shared by those who had been rescued at the hands of these supposed-vigilantes, the lack of evidence made it hard for those outside of the city - or those who had never seen them - to actually believe them.

It was for this reason that the stories remained just that: stories.

And despite the fact that they became less and less believable as time went by, those who had been saved at the hands of these vigilantes still believed that there was a group of heroes out there watching over the city.

A group of shadows.

Of Phantoms.

Heroes who hadn't made enough of an impact to get the League's attention, but enough to garner the citizens' attention. At least, until months later.

It was in New York City where it all started.

Where the stories of the ' _Shinobi_ ' first began

* * *

 **A/N: Crap. Crap. Crappitycrapcrap crap. I did it again. I have posted... a new story. Yeah, I've been rewatching Young Justice like ten times since it was put on Netflix, so this doesn't really surprise me. Eventually, something was going to stem from it.**

 **Anyway, this story will be a Marvel(only by a little bit)/Naruto/Young Justice (DC Comics) Crossover. I know that this has been done before, but I wanted to give it a shot.**

 **I'm still not sure whether I'm going to continue it though. There are so many directions that I wanted to take with this story with but I wanted to post this to get it over with after having it on my computer for so long. It depends on whether it receives a good response if I will continue this or not.**

 **A couple of things to establish though. Read this before you post a review or try to PM me.**

 **1\. This story will mainly focus on the Young Justice Storyline starting somewhere around the tenth-fifteenth chapter, however, for now, we are seeing the origins story of Team 7 in this new world where they have to adapt in order to survive and find a way back home... if they can.**

 **2\. Despite the fact that it is set in the Young Justice world as its main base in the crossover, this is actually an AU. Like, a huge AU. There are going to be Marvel characteristics and characters, but there will be changes done so that it can mix well with the DC/Young Justice verse.**

 **3\. The origins for a few of these characters will be vastly different from their canon verse. SHIELD and Spider-Man could be an example of this.**

 **4\. I am very well aware that there are a lot (okay, a shit-ton) of characters in both the DC Comics and Marvel world individually, and that I'm taking a huge risk by combining these two worlds along with Naruto because it could make things flow a little more difficult. This is why DC Comics/Marvel crossovers hardly work at all. So, I am not going to include ALL of the characters of both universes, instead, I will only include key characters from both the DC verse and the Marvel verse.**

 **5\. I also understand the risks I'm taking by combining two universes that have different kinds of lore, but - trust me on this - I will do whatever necessary to make sure there's consistencies and that they combine well.**

 **5\. This is fanfiction, I can do whatever the fuck I want. As long as their powers are accurate and their personalities and character development are near flawless (as well as some other key elements to fanfictions) then I will happily write this (if I decide to continue).**

 **Ok, Time for me to go! Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Warning: The following is a HUGE AU. There will be major differences from the comic/cartoon/movie verses that influence this story. You have been warned.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing… yet.**

 _-"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom."_

 _~Bob Dylan_

 **No Capes**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Arising Legends, Part 1**

* * *

 _Unknown Location_

 _February 5_

 _9:52 EDT_

"Their name is beginning to spread."

The man's single eye narrowed as he examined the papers that were brought to him by the dark-skinned woman standing before him, glaring at him from behind his desk.

"Phantoms. Shinobi. Nobody has caught sight of them, and the stories remain inconsistent, but there's no doubt that something is at hand here."

Nick Fury sighed and rubbed his temples in a vain effort to ease the incoming headache that came along whenever the woman payed him a visit.

"Amanda," he spoke, but was unable to continue as hands slammed on his desk.

"Don't. Nick," she warned "I have remained patient long enough, but it is evident that your negligence to take action in certain events has led to an even bigger mess that I have had to clean up."

The man's sole eye glared coldly at the woman over the accusation.

"You either investigate what's going on here, or I will be the one to take action."

She leaned forward until she was mere centimeters away from the man's face, but still, Nick Fury refused to be intimidated by her.

"And you know you don't want that."

With those last words, Amanda Waller didn't bother to wait for a response - she turned and walked out of Nick Fury's office, slamming the door shut behind her.

Nick Fury sighed, and eyed the papers strewn over his desk where various news reports and shady photographs were spread out, each speaking of stories of mysterious vigilantes that have taken root in New York City and have made it their goal to protect the innocent, but never bothered to remain at the scene of the crime once the criminals were taken care of.

New York City was a place that had, at one point, harbored various heroes that were known far and wide. But, that hasn't been the case since Captain America's death, an old and beloved hero that had inspired hundreds of others to don the cape and pursue heroic career. Even Iron Man had abandoned his armor to live a peaceful life and build new and better tech that continued to impress the world.

If there was new vigilante activity going on in New York City, then it was something that ought to be investigated before it was too late. And he knew Amanda well enough to know that her threats were not to be taken lightly.

With an agitated sigh, Nick picked up the phone lying on his desk and typed in a number. The phone rang a few times before being picked up on the other side of the line.

"I have a job for you and your partner."

* * *

 _Manhattan_

 _February 6_

 _12:25 EDT_

In the few months that he's worked in the restaurant, he's noticed that she usually comes in at the same time, on the same days, sitting in the same seat, and ordering the same plate.

The door bell jingled and he glanced at the clock briefly before smirking. _'Right on time.'_

She looked rather flustered. He noticed that she has been wearing a weary appearance since _that_ day a few weeks ago. The lack of sleep was evident from the sight of the dark bags under her eyes that have been growing thicker over time. And her usually neat blond hair was a bit unruly and out of place. There was also the fact that she wasn't looking up with a bright smile the way she usually did.

Still, he smiled and greeted her from behind the counter.

"Hello, Felicity!"

The young woman looked up in surprise and smiled softly at the young worker, but even from a distance, he could tell that the movement of her lips was forced and looked almost painful.

"Afternoon, Naruto!" she greeted softly.

She took her seat on her usual table - the one closest to the counter - and Naruto made her way over with a pad and a pen.

"The usual?" he asked with a bright smile.

Felicity nodded and Naruto immediately jotted down 'Miso Ramen' on his pad before taking it to the cook who had the shift behind the grill today.

When he came back out to the dining area, Felicity was rummaging through her purse and pulling out paper after paper and placing it on the table in an order known only to her. Naruto sighed when he caught sight of what the papers read. Ever since _that_ day, Felicity had grown obsessed with researching the reported sightings of the vigilantes that have been saving people throughout the city for the past two months.

In other words, Felicity kept reading stories about Naruto and co and their 'vigilante deeds'.

It was rather embarrassing. Here was Felicity reading news reports about him and his friends helping people in the dark streets of New York City while he stood only a few feet away. It was almost like he was a celebrity, except nobody knew that it was him.

And he was going to keep it that way.

"Still reading that stuff?" he asked as he made his way over.

Felicity nodded, but refused to look up from the papers she was currently examining. When he moved closer, he could see the news articles strewn all over the table, containing stories of people who claimed to have seen New York's vigilantes in action, and displayed a blurry image that Naruto could barely see, but he could tell that it was no doubt him in the picture. The one that Felicity was reading was titled **'New York's Vigilantes Strike Again'** and contained an image that Naruto didn't remember anybody taking of him. It must've been in a dark street or alley, because the only thing he was able to see was his own shadowy figure running off from the scene.

"I honestly can't say I understand your fascination with them," he stated as he looked at the chicken scratch that covered the whole paper in red ink, "They're nothing but stories. Nothing has been confirmed, not even that they exist. For all we know it could be a hoax, or a kid playing a very good and elaborate prank."

Felicity stopped reading and sighed, "Naruto," she started.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he waved his hand and pouted, "One of them saved your life not long ago."

"I just don't get it," she sighed in exasperation, "I know what I saw and there are all of these reports, so why don't people believe it?"

Naruto shrugged and mentally kicked himself when he noticed that one of the pictures showed a small flash of blue eyes, "Maybe cause they're scared. There haven't been any heroes in New York City in a long time, right? Not since Iron Man and Captain America."

He glanced at another image that looked eerily familiar to a certain raven-haired roommate, "Who knows what these 'vigilantes' are capable of."

Felicity glared slightly at him, "Are you saying that they could have bad intentions?"

Naruto shrugged once again, "I'm not saying they have good ones."

"Then, why would one of them save my life?"

Naruto smirked slyly, "Felicity, have you looked at yourself in the mirror? I don't blame the guy for stepping in to help you."

The bell jingled, garnering Naruto's attention and diverting it from the shocked expression of Felicity Smoak as a dark, red blush manifested on her cheeks.

"Welcome to Hiyashi's Ramen Shop, how may I help you today?"

Felicity shook her head to rid herself of the flustered expression and glanced quickly as Naruto walked towards the new customer with a pad and pen. She sighed and scanned her papers, getting back to work, but something caught her attention and she turned to the large TV screen displayed on the ceiling corner of the dining area.

The news channel was on with J. Jonah Jameson at the helm, who seemed to be speaking angrily to the camera as always. That could only mean one thing...

She read the big bold letters underneath Jameson's image and her suspicions were confirmed when a picture of a smiling Tony Stark waving at a crowd appeared.

 **TONY STARK TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE**

Felicity's eyes widened slightly. Well, today should be interesting.

* * *

 _Hell's Kitchen_

 _February 6_

 _12:34 EDT_

"You're late."

The only response she received in return to her accusation was an audible grunt as the young man plopped down on the seat in the desk next to her own and sat quietly.

Her eyes narrowed angrily at the young boy, staring off into space the way he usually did in an effort to ignore her as she took a loud bite of her apple.

It seemed to be another quiet morning. Something which she was thankful for. For the past month she's been getting phone calls and visits left and right of people asking her the same request.

To chase down the vigilantes that have taken root in New York City.

She nearly scoffed as she munched on her lunch. It's annoying having to explain to people that she pursued actual, plausible cases, not ghost stories.

She swallowed and glowered at the young man again.

"Reason?"

The raven-haired assistant she hired not too long ago merely blinked and slowly glanced her way.

"I got lost on the road of Life."

The apple 'thwacked' against his head, but despite her insane strength behind the throw, he hardly even reacted at all.

"Don't bullshit me, I'm your boss. I don't pay you to be a smartass."

The raven-haired man pulled out his phone and began typing away nonchalantly, "You hardly pay me at all."

Touche.

She opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of beer. "That's because nothing has been going on aside from those stupid vigilante stories."

The bottle cap hissed as she used her enormous strength to open it with her fingers.

"Just once, could something interesting happen?"

The bottle had barely touched her lips when there was a knock on her door. Her broken door which creaked open just from the small knock. She rose a brow at the suited, lanky man that stood in the doorway, who blinked in surprise at the unexpected state of her "home".

"Can I help you?" she asked, shaking the man from his reverie.

The man entered the office and cleared his throat.

"Are you Jessica Jones?"

"Can you read?" she pointed to the sign on her door's window.

 **Jessica Jones**

 **Private Investigator**

The man was taken back by the woman's tone, but he proceeded to take a seat in front of her desk.

"My name is Phil Coulson. I am here on behalf of my employer who would like to hire you for a case."

"What? He couldn't come himself?" Jessica asked rudely before taking a sip of her drink.

The man cleared his throat once again and placed his brief on his lap.

"My client is a very busy person and _she_ wishes to remain anonymous for this case."

Jessica's assistant scoffed, causing Phil to glance his way in surprise. Apparently, he had been unaware of another presence in the room.

"You're not buying me so far, pal," responded Jessica.

The man eyed her curiously before opening his brief slightly in order to pull out a thick yellow folder that he then dropped on her desk.

Jessica eyed it for a minute before speaking. "What's this?"

Taking the hint, Phil moved to open the folder and pulled out various papers that he laid over her desk.

Jessica's interest however, was still practically nonexistent as she quickly scanned the papers with a bored expression.

"Are you delivering yesterday's paper to me, or what?"

The assistant's interest though, seemed to have been grabbed as he stood from his seat to walk to Jessica's desk and look at the papers with an unreadable expression. There were photographs and news papers with the same story that has become a commodity in New York.

"Have you heard of the stories of the 'Shinobi'?" asked Phil.

Jessica scoffed as she grabbed one particular photo that had a shadowy, indistinguishable figure jumping from one rooftop to another.

"Who hasn't? They've been the talk of the town for a while now."

And a pain in her ass as far as her business was concerned.

"My client wishes to hire your services in order to investigate these 'vigilantes' and find more about them."

Jessica give him an 'are-you-kidding-me' look. "You serious?"

The man's silence was all she needed as an answer.

Jessica sighed in frustration and dropped down the photograph on the pile. "Look, buddy, I don't know who you and all those other idiots asking me the same thing think I am, but I am a private investigator." she pointed at the sign on her door once again. "I solve real cases, not chase down Big Foot like a damn mythbuster."

The man didn't seem to be fazed by her response. In fact, it seemed that it was something he had expected. He took out a pen from his pocket and and wrote down a number, then slid it to Jessica.

"This is how much my client is offering."

Jessica eyed the paper and clenched her jaw. Her assistant seemed to be rather surprised by the amount written in it, but didn't go beyond raising his brows curiously as he read the amount of money.

Phil smiled. "So, what do you say?"

Jessica looked back up at him with a cold expression.

"Sasuke, show him the door."

It didn't take a genius to guess that that was a loud, and clear 'No'.

* * *

 _Manhattan_

 _February 6_

 _1:32 EDT_

"Long day?"

The young woman sighed as she took a sip from her coffee and sat down across the table from her friend.

"You have no idea," she responded.

The man chuckled slightly as he offered her a muffin from his plate, which she took generously.

"What about you?" she asked before taking a bite from the blueberry muffin.

The man sighed and "Well, so far nobody's punched me today, so that's a good sign."

The woman chuckled slightly and glanced at the small TV screen that was placed in the cafe's ceiling, where they were currently taking a short break from all the hassle and bustle of their daily jobs.

"Unfortunately for me, I've had to clean up after a particularly messy patient," she said.

The man cringed slightly.

"Well, that's life for a hospital orderly I guess," he spoke before taking a sip from his own coffee.

The woman nodded in agreement, "Yup, what can I do?"

 _"These people are a menace!"_ he yelled, _"It doesn't matter whether they're real or not, they're mere sightings have caused more disturbances across New York City in a long time. And yet, people praise them. Praise them! Have we not all seen the chaos that vigilantes bring about with their presence? Vigilantes such as Batman are nothing but a public menace."_

The TV was set on a news channel, which had J. Jonah Jameson once again complaining about the mysterious vigilantes running around New York City.

"Is complaining all he ever does?" the woman groaned.

The officer chuckled, "Well, that's what he is known for. You should've seen him when Tony Stark announced that he would be holding a press conference today. Man, this guy tore him a new one."

The woman chuckled. "Well, that doesn't surprise me. He hates Tony Stark."

The man clenched his jaw. "Don't a lot of people?"

The woman eyed his change in demeanor curiously, hoping that her comment wouldn't put him in such a bad mood that he would feel tempted to pull out his gun on anybody who so much as looked at him the wrong way once his break was over.

"You okay?"

The officer nodded stiffly and took a sip from his coffee, but she still didn't believe him.

"You sure?" she asked again.

The man nodded. "Yeah, just a bit stressed out."

"Don't worry, your shift will be over soon and you can go home and rest."

The officer scoffed, "I wish. The department is having as many cops as they possibly can to safeguard Stark's press conference."

The woman raised a curious eyebrow at the news, "Why?"

The officer shrugged. "There's been numerous reports of some villain planning on sabotaging the entire thing. They haven't been proven true so far, but my boss wants to take precautions and make sure that the conference goes down smoothly."

"And you're going to be one of the cops securing the conference?" she asked.

He merely nodded. "They say that it might be those 'Shinobi' or whatever vigilantes that are targeting the conference."

She seemed to be intrigued by the statement. "That's strange. Why would they say that?"

"Maybe because they're a mysterious group of people whose intentions we don't know anything about."

"Not a lot of people seem to believe in them though."

The officer smirked. "Maybe so. But, you know how people have a fascination with the obscure; you tell them there's a ghost haunting a mansion and they'll start looking at the damn place as if it were true."

"Where do these reports come from anyway?"

The officer shrugged, "I don't ask, I just do my job. Though a buddy of mine did say that there's been somebody feeding us the intel. Don't know why, and I don't really care. I'm pretty sure it's just a bunch of baloney to ruffle Stark's and the NYPD's feathers."

He grunted and stood up from his seat, the woman eyeing his every move.

"Well, my break is over, so I might as well get back to work."

He grabbed his empty coffee cup and threw it to the trash can next to the door. He turned back to smile at the woman just as he gripped the handle of the door.

"See you later, Sakura."

"Good-bye, Brett."

Sakura watched as the door closed behind him and she glanced at the TV screen once more, which still had J. Jonah Jameson ranting angrily about the 'vigilante menace'.

Her eyes narrowed as she read the large bold letters flying underneath J's image which read, 'TONY STARK TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE.'

She had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

 _Stark Tower_

 _February 6_

 _2:01 EDT_

 ** _"From a scale of 1 to 10, how ready are you for today, sir?"_**

"Negative fifteen."

Tony Stark examined his image in the mirror. Last night's binge drinking had not been a good idea, and he was beginning to regret it just like he regretted so many other things in his life.

 ** _"Do you need help with anything else, sir?"_**

Tony sighed as he shifted his eyes away from his haunting reflection and walked to his closet.

"No thanks, Jar."

 ** _"Alright, sir,"_** spoke the AI, **_"Call for me if you need anything."_**

Tony didn't bother to reply. He walked inside his rather large closet and pulled out one of his many suits. He eyed the expensive black outfit and immediately noticed a white stain on one of the sleeves. He shrugged. Not like it mattered. He wouldn't be meeting many important people today. Unless if you count Lex Luthor as very important people. Which, in the eyes of the American society, he was.

He walked out of his closet and dropped the suit on his bed and grabbed his phone from the foot of the bed.

 _'Fifteen missed calls.'_

Well, that was concerning. But, once he actually read who does fifteen calls came from, he dropped his phone back on the bed and walked out.

 ** _"Mr. Pym came by to see you again last night."_**

"Don't care," was his response as he opened the refrigerator in the kitchen, only to sigh in dismay when he realized the only thing he had was a moldy lemon, peanut butter, and a gallon of what was most likely spoiled milk. For being a billionaire, his food supply was rather empty.

 ** _"He is becoming really insistent on contacting you, sir."_**

"What makes you say that?" he asked as he grabbed the peanut butter and a spoon and made his way to the living room.

 ** _"Well, for one thing-"_**

"Your security has gone soft."

Tony jumped in surprise and dropped the spoon and peanut butter as he felt his soul nearly abandon his body from the unexpected voice that spoke behind him.

He turned around and was shocked to see one Hank Pym standing in the middle of his living room, wearing the old Ant-Man suit.

"What the hell?" He sighed in exasperation, feeling like he needed to catch his breath for a second.

"You weren't opening your door, not answering my phone calls," spoke the masked man as he made his way towards the frightened man, "Figured this was the best way to get to you."

"So, you sneaked into my house? How did you even get through all that security?" he asked.

"I told you, your security has gone soft," was Hank's response. "You really ought to do something about that."

"Well, I shouldn't have to," he retorted.

Hank pressed the button on his suit on the side of his neck, and the helmet covering his head slid back down to reveal a man in his late fifties early sixties with graying hair and a tired look in his eyes. "Just like so many times before, you're wrong, Tony."

Tony clenched his jaw in frustration over the jab and narrowed his eyes at the older man. "You're wearing the suit," he said with an accusing tone.

"I wouldn't have had to if you had just picked up the damn phone."

Tony closed his mouth and eyed him silently for a few seconds before speaking again. "What do you want Pym?"

Hank turned to look at the empty beer bottles and cans lying carelessly over his living room floor with an expression akin to dismay and disappointment, which only worked in frustrating Tony even further.

Finally, Hank turned to look at Tony back in the eyes. "I came to ask you to call off the press conference today."

Tony looked bewildered by the comment. "Whoa, wait, what? Say that again, I don't think I heard correctly."

"You heard me well," Hank spoke sternly, "Call. Off. The. Press. Conference."

Tony glared at him. "Now, why would I do that, hot stuff?"

"Have you seen the files that I sent you?"

"Uh, no." Tony responded nonchalantly.

Hank shook his head in dismay. "Why?"

"Maybe because I couldn't give less of a crap over what your stupid files say," he answered, "Now get out of my damn building."

Hank ignored the order and walked past Tony into the kitchen to grab the laptop lying on the counter.

He opened it up and Tony crossed his arms as he stared at him across from the living room.

"I changed my password," he stated.

The laptop, however, dinged in confirmation and Tony rolled his eyes. Of course he should've expected that.

After clicking some keys, Hank walked towards Tony and handed him the laptop. Tony simply continued staring at Hank with his arms crossed, and didn't move to grab the computer.

"You know I don't like things handed to me."

Hank rolled his eyes. "At least look at the damn thing."

Tony's jaw clenched in frustration but he finally lowered his eyes to look at what was displayed in the computer screen, and immediately narrowed them before taking the laptop from Hank's hands.

"He was last seen prowling the streets of Queens when this picture was taken."

"That's impossible," muttered Tony as he continued to stare at the picture of a hooded man walking the crowded streets of New York in shock. "He's dead. Cap killed him." He ignored the painful twinge in his heart when he mentioned the fond nickname.

Hank didn't seem to notice the mention of the name, or rather ignored it, as he continued to speak. "There's also been numerous reports made to the NYPD of a possible attack on your press conference. Why do you think there's going to be a shitload of cops guarding the damn place?"

Tony shoved the laptop against Hank's chest and brushed past him.

"That's a load of bullshit and you know it," he said angrily as he began walking to his 'play room.'

"Bullshit? Bullshit is you calling this bullshit." Despite being older and at the age of retirement, Hank has surprised those around him by somehow walking faster than the average person his age, which frustrated Tony when Hank walked past him and stood in front of him, forcing him to stop on his tracks.

"You knew from the very beginning you hanged up the suit, that they wouldn't give up on you so easily. That they wouldn't leave you alone."

"Except that they have," retorted Tony, throwing his arms up in the air in frustration, "Why do you think I've been okay for the past four years?"

"'Okay?' 'Okay?!' Tony, in less than one year you had more assassination attempts drawn on you than the damn president of the United States."

"Well, that's an exaggeration."

"Is it, Tony?" Hank leaned in closer to Tony's face, and despite the fact that the man was shorter than the younger one, he still managed to intimidate the ex-hero.

"They've left me alone for the past three years, why would things be different now?" he asked stiffly.

"I don't know," answered Hank honestly, "But, what I do know, is that if you don't drop this conference now, then all hell is going to break lose."

Tony clenched his jaw once again and glared at his carpeted floor in frustration. This couldn't be happening. Not now of all times. Not on the day that he was making one of the biggest announcements in his company's history.

"I'm not stopping it," he spoke softly, yet with determination.

Hank closed his eyes in frustration and took a step back. "Tony, I'm telling you this for your safety."

"Safety?" asked Tony as he took a step forward and glared at Hank in the eyes. "Since when do people care about my safety, huh? Cause in case you forgot, I'm the one person in the whole world least deserving of any safety. If anything, I should be buried six feet under."

Hank sighed in defeat and stared at Tony with pity. "You are a really self-deprecating man."

"Let me tell you something, Hank," he spoke coldly, "When you've done the kind of things that I've done, you deserve everything bad that comes to you."

He did his best to ignore the small voice in his mind that told him that 'no, he didn't'. Because all that voice has ever done, is caused him pain since the day the owner of it entered his life.

Hank eyed Tony in concern, before finally slumping in defeat. "I'm telling you this, not just because I care for your safety Tony, but because knowing this guy, he won't care who walks into the crossfire in his revenge plot against you."

Tony's eyes widened slightly and he seemed to be a bit shaken up, but immediately regained his composure. "I'll make sure that there are safety precautions," he said.

Hank sighed, "You just never give up, do you?"

Tony said nothing. There was a tense silence between both men as they stood in the middle of Tony's hall, each contemplating the other's words.

"You wore the suit again," Tony mentioned again.

Hank looked down at his Ant-Man suit and nodded, "Feels kinda weird doing it again, but also kinda right."

Tony scoffed, but said nothing else.

He flinched when a large hand clasped on his right shoulder, and he looked up to meet his old friend's eyes.

"Promise me one thing, Tony," he said.

Tony stared at him in expectation.

"Take care."

Hank awaited a response from the younger man, but he was left disappointed when Tony simply nodded stiffly before looking back down at the floor. With one last look, Hank brushed past him to make his way out.

"Make sure to use the door this time."

Hank smirked.

"Where would be the fun in that?"

When Tony heard a strange noise that definitely was not the sound of his sliding door opening and closing, he sighed in frustration. He stood in the hall for a few more seconds before moving to his room.

He grabbed the phone at the foot of his bed and began wandering through his long list of contacts before he finally came to the one he was looking for in the 'Q's.

"Hey, I got a favor to ask of you."

* * *

 _Manhattan_

 _February 6_

 _2:35 EDT_

"The conference will be starting in less than five hours."

The sewers were dark, and quiet with only the sound of a few rats skittering around. It's what made it the perfect place for this meet up, where no unwanted ears would listen and eyes would see. And if anybody did, it wouldn't take long for them to dispose of the witness.

"Is everything in place?" spoke a baritone voice.

"Almost," answered another one. "The only thing that we're missing is the 'package'."

"Aaaahhh, yes. Has anybody contacted Bullseye?"

"I did. He is prepared."

"Good."

The mysterious figure stepped into a lighted part of the sewers, revealing a large man dressed in black combat gear with weapons attached to different parts of his body and a black mask with a skull painted over it in white.

"Everything else, should be a piece of cake from here."

The other figure smiled widely, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth.

"Very well. Your work has me astounded, Crossbones."

The man with the black mask chuckled, "Well, you did pay me a good sum for this. It's only right that I only gave you the best quality I can offer."

"And in the end it'll all be worth it." The man stepped forward into the lighted path, revealing a tall man with an expensive black suit, long black hair, wearing various rings on his fingers, and a goatee that looked oddly familiar.

"When Tony Stark finally meets his end."

* * *

 _Manhattan_

 _February 6_

 _3:05 EDT_

 _"Do you think we should investigate?"_

Naruto sighed as he continued to listen to the voice on the other line.

"I don't know, Sakura. We've already been getting involved way too much. It's too risky."

He leaned back against the sink of the restaurant's boy's bathroom and stared at the dirty floor. Somebody really ought to clean this place up.

 _"I know."_ sighed Sakura from the other line. _"I just can't help but get this bad feeling that something's going to happen at that Press Conference. Something bad. Things just don't add up from what Brett told me."_

"Yeah, I mean how could the NYPD stumble across info like that? And who would be voluntarily feeding them all this intel without fearing for their life? It does sound suspicious. But, Sakura-"

 _"Don't 'But, Sakura' me, Naruto,"_ she replied sternly, making the blond cringe back. _"I know that our goal was to remain hidden from the public eye as much as we could, but we already got people trying to learn more about us left and right. Even Sasuke's boss has been getting a lot of requests to investigate us."_

"So, are you saying that we should just say 'the hell with it' and blow off our cover?"

 _"I'm not saying that, but what I am saying is that we should do something about this."_

"Sakura, I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't hold some kind of event like this without extra protection. I'm pretty sure that there are going to be some Capes watching over the entire thing."

 _"I know. But, Naruto-"_

Naruto sighed loudly. "Okay, how about this? I'll ask Sasuke to sneak into the NYPD offices and check things out. Maybe try and find out where they're getting all their intel from, and see what we can do from the shadows."

Silence was his only answer for a few seconds as Sakura seemed to hesitate.

 _"Sounds good,"_ she finally answered.

Naruto smiled slightly. "Alright, I'll call him right now and let him know."

A resounding crash echoed on the other side of the line and Naruto cringed as he heard the screams of what he assumed were either nurses or a patient. He heard Sakura groan in disgust on the other line.

 _"Okay, I'll talk to you later then. HEY! STOP THAT! PUT THAT BED PAN DOWN!"_

 _ ***Click***_

Naruto pressed the 'End Call' button on his phone and sighed.

Things were definitely not going so well right now. It had taken them months to assimilate to this new world, learn the culture, the language, build an identity for themselves as well as a life while they tried to find a way back. Which, at this point, seemed more like an impossibility than anything. They won the battle against Kaguya, but they ended up losing something in return: their home.

He closed his eyes as he was hit with a large wave of homesickness. He didn't know what happened back home after their battle against Kaguya, but what he did know is that her control over their friends and villages had been destroyed, but there was a part of him that felt like he hadn't done enough. That there was something missing.

Something that went wrong.

He shook his head and opened his eyes. He was doing it again. Sasuke had warned him from time to time to stop getting lost in those kind of thoughts that would do nothing but hurt him. There was no point in pondering the past.

He could only focus on the now. And the 'Now' had a shit-storm brewing.

Now that they had a whole new life for themselves while remaining in the shadows and out of sight from the government and Capes of this world, they were at risk of having their cover blown. Then again, he had seen this coming. You couldn't save a few lives without calling attention to yourself.

He lifted his phone and typed in one of the only few numbers that he knew from memory.

"Sasuke, you busy?"

The annoyed voice on the other end of the line said otherwise.

"Well, too bad. I got something for you."

* * *

 _Manhattan_

 _February 6_

 _4:46 EDT_

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in frustration as he observed the NYPD station that Sakura's friend was stationed in. When Naruto had called him to ask for a 'small favor', it hadn't exactly been the best moment. Needless to say, he only had a short amount of time before Jessica discovered that her assistant was actually a clone while she investigated another cheating scandal that should be solved by the end of the day with good pay.

There were policemen walking in and out of the station, and it looked to be a rather busy day as they prepared for the huge press conference that lay ahead. Really, he couldn't believe that he was doing this.

He stood at the end of the block, leaning against a lamp post while reading a newspaper, trying to not look as suspicious as possible. One officer exited the building and Sasuke quickly glanced his way as the cop walked towards the end of the street where his car was parked. Once the cop car drove away, Sasuke threw the newspaper in the trash and sneaked into an alleyway.

It took him only a few seconds to do the familiar hand signs and get ready.

Time to get this over with.

* * *

"Hey Michael! You forgot something?"

'Michael' smiled politely at the young receptionist that greeted him from her desk, and nodded.

Officers were moving around left and right, filling paperwork and chatting with their buddies. Overall, everything seemed to be normal. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for or what Naruto expected him to find, but he knew that the blond wouldn't get off his ass unless he at least investigated and sought for anything that seemed suspicious or out of place.

Which there didn't really seem to be anything of. It seemed to be a usual day as he scanned each and every officer in the vicinity-

His eyes widened slightly and his eyes shifted back to the officer that he saw talking and laughing with two other co-workers.

What was...?

There it was again. Nobody else seemed to notice but him. Then again, he was a trained Shinobi. He was able to see what nobody else would be able to catch if it was right in front of their faces. Which, at the moment, it was.

He narrowed his eyes and began walking in the cop's direction.

"Michael!"

Sasuke cursed internally as he was intercepted by another officer, whom he was safe to assume was Brett Mahoney- Sakura's cop friend who gave them the information.

Brett smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. "Hey there buddy! They told me you had already left to your patrol."

"I came back," answered 'Michael' as he subtly pushed Brett away, "There was something that I forgot."

Brett nodded in understanding and put his hands on his hips. "You going to be there for the press conference?"

Shit. Did this guy ever shut up?

'Michael' smiled with tight lips and nodded. "I believe so, but I'm still waiting to be told where I will be placed."

Brett rose a brow curiously. "Didn't they tell you?"

'Michael' shook his head. "Tell me what?"

"Well, most of us are going to be posted near the back of the building."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

Brett shrugged. "Rumors say that the intel we've been receiving hinted that the attack might begin there."

Sasuke frowned and glanced at the cop that he had been eyeing before Brett interrupted him. He was moving towards the entrance of the station.

"Sorry, Brett. I have to go."

Sakura was right, something suspicious was going on.

He didn't think that it was normal for that cop's face to blur like static on a TV.

* * *

He followed him down several streets where the crowds began do disperse and people became less and less as they entered a rather shady neighborhood. He had been sprinting from rooftop to rooftop, following the patrol car until it stopped and the man stepped out and began walking down several blocks, taking odd twists and turns here and there.

Finally he turned the corner and walked into an alley. Sasuke watched from the rooftop of a nearby building, making sure to remain out of sight so the man wouldn't see him. The cop looked up and down the alley before opening the door to what Sasuke assumed was an abandoned building and going in.

Sasuke waited a few seconds before following. He sneaked in quietly through the door and quickly hid in the shadows. It was a dark room, with sunlight streaming in through a few windows to light up certain spots of the building.

He didn't see the officer anywhere.

He looked around before moving on, and entering the completely dark hallway. He looked down both sides for any signs of the cop. Still nothing.

"We're almost ready."

The voice was soft, almost like it was afraid that anybody would hear despite being in an abandoned warehouse that was mostly avoided by normal citizens. But Sasuke heard it.

He continued walking down the hallway in the direction of the voice and stumbled upon a door that was slightly opened. He peaked inside through the crack that the door allowed him, and saw the cop with his back turned towards Sasuke, talking to somebody in a laptop - a dark figure that Sasuke was unable to see or make out.

 _ **"And nobody is suspicious of anything?"**_ spoke a distorted voice from the computer. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched the scene played out before him. Well, this was rather suspicious.

"No."

 _ **"Good."**_

Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh. This was going to take a while.

* * *

Manhattan

February 6

5:10 EDT

 ** _"40 more minutes until your press conference. Is there anything else you need, sir?"_**

Tony eyed his reflection carefully in the mirror, making sure that every wrinkle in his awfully expensive suit was smoothed out, that no hair was out of place, and that his signature goatee was as it should be. His eyes landed on the small, white stain on his sleeve and he sighed.

"Some more time would be nice," he grumbled.

 ** _"Unfortunately, there is only so much I can do, sir."_**

"I know, Jar, I know."

 _ ***Ding***_

He pulled out his phone from his pocket alerting him that he had one new message. One he had been expecting for a while now. With fumbling hands, Tony opened the message and smiled slightly at what he saw.

 **Ready.**

He put his phone back in his pocket and with one last look in the mirror, Tony made his way out of the room. He could already hear the reporters waiting for him downstairs in the stage set up on his building's lobby.

Time to get this over with.

* * *

 _Manhattan_

 _February 6_

 _5:15 EDT_

"He's late."

Naruto tapped his foot anxiously. Sakura watched him just a few feet away, leaning against the rotten wall of the abandoned warehouse that they had made into their meeting spot in order to avoid the curious eyes and ears of nosy people.

"Would you relax? I'm sure he's on his way," voiced an annoyed Sakura.

Naruto pushed himself up from the wooden crate he had been sitting on and began to pace.

"He doesn't usually take this long," muttered Naruto, "Covert. Gather intel. It's the usual easy thing."

Sakura sighed. "Something probably stopped him along the way."

Naruto scoffed and stopped his pacing. "He'd be even more stupid than I thought then to be stopped by anything."

"Who's stupid?"

Naruto jumped in surprise and turned around to see none other than Sasuke manifesting from the shadows of the warehouse with an amused expression on his face.

"What the hell, man? You planning on giving me a heart attack?" Naruto pointed at him accusingly.

Sasuke simply scoffed. "Not my fault you were a big enough idiot to let your defenses down. This world has really dulled down your senses."

Naruto clenched his fist. "Why you-?!"

"Did you find anything, Sasuke?" Sakura intervened and got between both comrades before a fight could break out and destroy their only hiding place. As much as she missed these moments between Team 7 when Sasuke and Naruto were always at each other's throats, right now was not the time for that.

Sasuke's eyes shifted from the angered Naruto to Sakura and he nodded.

"Well, it's certainly not good, I can tell you that."

Naruto's demeanor became more serious and his anger at the raven-haired man was now forgotten.

"What happened?"

"The 'intel' that the NYPD has been receiving? It's false."

Sakura pumped her fist. "So I was right."

Sasuke sighed. "Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"It's false, but at the same time, it's rather true," he continued.

Both Sakura and Naruto adopted confused expressions.

"There is going to be an attack on Tony Stark's press conference, and the police force is getting ready to intercept from the back of the building where they've heard the attack is going to begin. But, that's not the case."

Sasuke reached for his phone and typed in a few keys before holding the phone up for Naruto and Sakura to see what was displayed on it.

"You recognize this guy?"

It was the picture of a man in a dark suit, with a white collar and gloves. But the most noticeable thing about his outfit, was the white bullseye symbol on his forehead.

"Bullseye," voiced Sakura, remembering reading about the mercenary not too long ago in the newspaper. Last she heard, he had been imprisoned somewhere in Washington, but it was evident that the man didn't stay there for long.

Sasuke nodded and pocketed his phone again. "When I sneaked into the NYPD I found this guy impersonating an officer. He was wearing some sort of technology that altered his face and I managed to follow him to an abandoned building where he made a video call and dropped his disguise. "

Sakura's eyes widened. "Then, that means..."

Sasuke nodded in confirmation, "The intel was being given by Bullseye this whole time. _Faulty_ intel."

Naruto tapped his chin in thought. "But, he's a mercenary. So that means, somebody must've hired him to plan this out."

"Not just him," continued Sasuke, "I heard him talking with somebody, he's not the only one working here. Not to mention that an elaborate plan like this could only have been made with various hands at play. He talked about others disguised as cops and bombs implanted in Stark's building, most likely they'll be detonated during the conference."

"Were you able to tell who was in the video?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke shook his head.

Naruto frowned. "We have to do something about this."

"What, though?" asked Sakura, concern etched in her expression. "I mean, saving a man from being mugged is one thing. This... this is huge."

Sasuke nodded in agreement, "We can't do this without blowing off the cover we've worked so hard to build. It'll put the government and Capes on our backs, no doubt."

Naruto raised a brow. "What do you suggest then?"

"We could give this information to somebody who could do something about it."

"Who?" asked Sakura, "Bullseye has taken over an NYPD station and has criminals disguised as cops. Who else could help here?"

"There's always the League," suggested Sasuke.

The trio went silent for a few seconds. Then, Naruto burst out laughing.

"Seriously?!" he cried between laughs.

When neither Sasuke or Sakura reacted and simply stared at him expressionlessly, Naruto's laughter slowly died down.

"Wait, seriously?" he asked again.

When nobody answered, Naruto crossed his arms and frowned.

"Who's to say they'll believe us in the first place?"

"Who's to say they won't?" retorted Sasuke.

Naruto shook his head, "How would we contact them anyway? Anybody have any idea?"

Crickets chirped and Naruto almost whooped victoriously.

Naruto scoffed. "Thought so."

"Well, what's your plan, dobe?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto took a second to glare at him for the insult before looking down at the dirty, concrete floor in thought. There was something that they could do, but he just knew that it would take a lot more to get the other two to agree and cooperate with him. It's not like it was the best, plausible idea seeing how it took them so long to create an identity for themselves and hide among the normal crowd of this world.

It took a lot of books to learn the language and culture as well as a lot of illegal activity to create an identity and forge the necessary paperwork. In the end, they managed to assimilate and live life under the radar while trying to find a way back home.

This next idea of his could ruin all that, and take them down a different path.

"Why don't we stop it ourselves?"

Sakura's eyes widened in bewilderment and Sasuke sighed, apparently already having expected it.

"Really?" asked Sakura, "I mean, I know that I said that we should help in whatever way we can, but are you really suggesting we... come into the radar?"

Naruto nodded.

"What happened to sticking to the shadows?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto raised his hands in the air in frustration. "Hey, I don't know about you but I'd rather have my cover blown off than watch people die knowing that I could've done something about it."

"Well, there's always secret identities," recommended Sakura.

"Secret identities on top of secret identities?" asked Naruto.

"Hey, if there's a Batman there has to be an average Joe."

"We don't know that. For all we know, Batman could be a blood-thirsty vampire who parties all night and sleeps all day."

"A blood-thirsty vampire who saves innocent people?"

"Maybe he's a vegetarian?"

"How does that even work?"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in frustration as their main topic was diverted for a different, more stupid one. "Enough," he called out.

Both Sakura and Naruto seemed to realize what they were just doing and laughed sheepishly.

"It doesn't matter whether Batman is human or a freaking vampire, he still has a costume which is something we don't have."

A lightbulb seemed to go off at the top of Naruto's head, and a sly smiled spread across his lips.

"I wouldn't say that."

A pound of dread settled on Sakura's stomach and Sasuke immediately regretted his words as Naruto's expression seemed to grow more and more demonic.

What have they gotten themselves into?

* * *

 _Manhattan_

 _February 6_

 _5:42 EDT_

He has always been a man who relished in the attention he received.

"Is that..."

"What is he doing here?"

"I thought they didn't like each other."

The whispers began as soon as he took a step out of his fancy limousine, and all eyes turned his way, immediately widening at the maddening sight that greeted them.

He simply smiled and began to walk towards the entrance, the reporters and people parting ways like the Red Sea in order to create a path for him and his assistant. It wasn't until they got over their shock that they immediately began to swarm him like a hoard of hungry zombies with their microphones and eager questions, only to be pushed back by the security guards that flanked him from all sides.

"Mr. Luthor! Mr. Luthor! What are you doing here?"

Lex Luthor stopped to smile at the young reporter and offered her an answer. "I was invited." Then, he continued moving.

The reporters didn't stop there, but he simply walked calmly past them, answering only a few small questions here and there until he finally entered the famous Stark Tower and saw the person he was looking for standing near the podium, greeting and shaking hands with people that Luthor didn't care for. He had only one person in his mind at the moment, and he approached him the way a tiger might stalk a prey.

"Mr. Stark."

The older man seemed to tense up slightly once the name left his lips, and he slowly turned around to face Luthor who stood there hands at his sides and a small, mysterious smile on his lips.

"Mr. Luthor," greeted Tony with tight lips. Lex nearly wanted to shout in victory when he saw the hatred brewing behind those shades. Some things just never change.

"Glad you could make it." Tony forced his lips to lift into a tight, almost painful looking smile as he extended his hand for Luthor to shake.

Luthor took the hand. "Glad I was invited."

The flashes of the hundreds of cameras was nearly blinding as reporters caught this moment where two rivals finally shook hands and didn't have a verbal battle within the first five seconds of their meeting. Little did they know that the handshake was a little more tighter than the one acquaintances normally give to each other. But, hey, it was a start.

"I haven't seen you in so long," continued Luthor as he dropped his hand back to his side. "How have things been, Tony?"

Tony shrugged. "Pretty good. Can't complain. You?"

"Things have been fine," answered Luthor. He rose a curious eyebrow at the man. "Nervous?"

Tony waved a hand in dismissal. "Nah, it's not like it's my first press conference."

"I know," continued Luthor, "But considering the news that you will be delivering today, I just thought it'd be a bit... nerve-racking."

Tony's smile immediately fell from his lips and his jaw clenched tightly, glaring at the younger man from behind his shades. There it was. It was too good to be true. Both men couldn't be in the same room for one minute without initiating a conflict.

Before Tony could open his mouth to retort, however, he was intercepted by a man that shoved his way between both billionaires.

"Mr. Luthor!"

Luthor smiled at the man that appeared before him. "Darren Cross. It is a pleasure to see you again."

Both men shook hands, with Darren having the widest smile that would've surely split his face in two if it grew any bigger.

"Pleasure to see you, too, sir."

Tony coughed under his breath. "Ass-kisser."

Cross and Luthor turned to look at him, but Tony merely cleared his throat and muttered something about a 'damn cold coming in.'

Luthor cleared his throat and released Cross' hand. "How are you, Cross?"

Darren's smile immediately returned as wide as before. "Very good, sir. I was actually hoping to speak to you later. There is something that I wanted to discuss with you."

"Mr. Stark!"

The trio turned to see a man pointing at his clock for Tony to see and waving for him to come in.

Tony turned to other two man and forced another smile. "Excuse me, gentlermen, but I have to get ready. Only a few minutes before we start."

Luthor nodded and Tony walked away to get ready for his big night.

"I'm sorry Mr. Cross, but perhaps we can continue this conversation some other time?" he smiled at Darren.

The young man nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Thank you sir!"

Luthor smiled at him once more and moved to join the group gathered behind on the podium to listen to Stark's speech, his assistant following right behind him.

Tonight, was a big night.

* * *

 _Manhattan_

 _February 6_

 _5:56 EDT_

"Everything's in place?"

"Yes, sir. Everything's ready, we're just waiting for your cue."

"Excellent."

The man stepped out of the fancy limousine, watching as the crowd of reporters swarmed into Stark's building like cockroaches running from the light.

He smiled.

"Then, let us begin."

* * *

 _ **TBC...**_

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **AAAAAAAAAAAND CUT!**

 **So... How was it?**

 **I'll admit that I was a astounded and a bit intimidated by the response this story got, and I was a somewhat scared to continue because I thought that the story wouldn't live up to the expectations I had for it. BUT, I tried my best with this chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Remember, this story won't focus on the Young Justice storyline until somewhere around the 10th-15th chapter. For now, we are reading the origin story of Team 7 in this new world.**

 **REVIEW TIME!**

 **Ok, so I actually wrote a long-ass A/N earlier where I had answered ALL reviews each with unique notes, but my internet went down and the stupid A/N didn't save. Which means that I have to write all the review responses AGAIN... at 12 AM on a school night. *Sigh* So, sadly, I have only decided to answer reviews that have questions in them while I write the other reviewers some PMs when I have time tomorrow. Thing is, I like answering to reviews in the next chapter of my stories instead of PMing, but I'm going to have to make an exception this time. Just know, that I am so grateful to all who reviewed. I wasn't so sure about continuing this story, but a lot of you motivated me to keep going and I can't thank you enough for that.**

 **mystery joker: So far? We know that only three of the members of Team 7 are in this story, and though I'm tempted to answer your question to its fullest, I must resist giving out spoilers XD. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!**

 **Blinded in a bolthole: I have read it actually! A long time ago, and though I never got to finish it, it still stands as one of the greatest NarutoxJustice League crossover I've ever read. I hope to get back to it now that you reminded me. And that is true, Naruto and Sakura aren't exactly the quietest of the bunch. XD Nevertheless, they are still trained shinobi who just went through a grueling battle, so they have matured a little and improved in their stealth skills. As for my approach... well, we shall see, won't we? ;)**

 **Lord-of-Change: That is so true. Though I have read one NarutoxDCxMarvel crossover which was well-written and succesfully combined elements of both stories. I'm a bit nervous for this story but I will do the best I can with it.**

 **Crossovernaru: I still can't get over the fact that one of the authors in my favorites list likes my stories. I know I've messaged you before to thank you, but God it makes me so happy. :D**

 **55: Well, we shall see. ;) As for the pairings... I'm not really a huge fan of pairings, but I have learned throughout the years that people really do love them. Sooooo, who knows? I might just have them here in this story.**

 **SorryIMoverboard: Wow. This actually does help. I can't thank you enough for this review because it actually did make me think a lot about the future I have planned for this story. I always enjoy it when people give me some good advice and yours was one of the best I've received. Thank you so much.**

 **Inbetweentheraindrops: Thank you so much! It will be a tough task, but I will do the best I have. As for your questions: Adding other members of team 7 would be too complicated so I decided not to do it. And the other two questions I can't answer. Buuuut, we shall see ;).**

 **I want to thank all who read, reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story. It truly means a lot to me. And I can't wait to see you all next chapter.**

 **Laters!**


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